The United States Pentagon has ordered the isolation of the U.S. military troops returning from West Africa to curb the Ebola outbreak.

Despite being asymptomatic, the soldiers were still quarantined as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus.

Pentagon's move, which was more extensive than previously agreed upon military protocols in addressing Ebola, came as the White House announced its decision to roll back the Ebola policy employed by some U.S. states, which imposed a mandatory quarantine on healthcare workers returning from West Africa even if they were not exhibiting any symptoms of the virus.

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About a dozen American soldiers, including Major General Darryl Williams, who were part of a team sent to West Africa, have already been quarantined by the U.S. Army at a military camp in Vicenza, Italy.

According to the Pentagon, many more will be isolated in the following days as the soldiers are withdrawn from the Ebola-ridden countries in West Africa, where they were deployed to help build an infrastructure where the Ebola patients can be treated.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the move was not caused by a "single triggering event" but was due to a decision to take extreme caution regarding the matter.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the White House, will release additional and more extensive guidelines on Monday regarding the necessary steps to be taken for U.S. medical workers returning home after being sent to West Africa to treat Ebola patients.

Meanwhile, Kaci Hickox, the nurse who was put in mandatory quarantine in New Jersey on Friday was being allowed to return to her home state in Maine.

Hickox's case, which was broad and exceeded the necessary Ebola protocol, highlighted the dilemma that both state and federal officials are facing regarding quarantine procedures.

The mandatory quarantine was imposed by Gov. Chris Christie and the state of New Jersey, which stated that health workers who have returned from caring for patients in the Ebola-ridden countries in West Africa must be put in automatic quarantine.

Christie posted on Twitter that Hickox will be allowed to continue her 21-day quarantine period in Maine.

According to healthcare professionals, the Ebola virus is hard to detect. It is not airborne and can only be spread through direct contact with a sick person's bodily fluids. 

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